Titanium
by Bali Lali
Summary: I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose - Fire away, fire away - Ricochet, you take your aim - Fire away, fire away - You shoot me down but I won't fall - I am titanium - You shoot me down but I won't fall - I am titanium -


_Stone-hard, machine gun  
Firing at the ones who run  
Stone-hard as bulletproof glass_

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_For the Fifth Quarter Quell to remind the districts of our generosity and forgiveness, every two tribute's will be branded with identical marks. If these two are the remaining tributes they both shall be named victors._

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I roll over uneasily as the rays of dawn sets an eerie glow over my room. The mattress was warm which was unusual but seeing what day it is, when I roll over and find my younger siblings Bethany and Finn curled into my side I wasn't surprised. It's there first reaping, of course there scared. When they were younger they used to ask where people were going when they died in the Hunger Games, Ash made me break the news to them about the arena, the Capitol and how some of their closest friends had died in the games.

I carefully slip out of bed and silently pull on my hunting clothes. Easy to move around trackies, a black V-neck and our dad's old woodwork jacket, I pull my hair into a high ponytail and grab my old rucksack from the top of the wardrobe. Our family was different when it came to our 'origins', 5% of the people in the district are from other parts of Panem, the rest were born here. Our dad was from District 7 and from that I got freakish strength, pale skin, green eyes and long, deep brown hair which was now highlighted from hours under the sun. Our mother was from District 10 but all she seemed to have passed onto me was speed and a slender figure. Ash, Finn and Bethany on the other hand got her bright red hair, her speed and her sparkling blue eyes.

I pull on my boots and walk into the kitchen/dining room only to find Ash sitting at the table. "Morning" I smile at him and walk over to the cabinet, I pull down the wooden box and quickly flip the hatch open, KNEW IT FELT TO LIGHT, there was only half a loaf of flat bread left. "Hey Ash, I'm going to drop down by The Trade and get some stuff to eat..." I hurry around getting money from the loose floor board, and if you're wondering we keep it there due to robbers aren't very rare around our part of District 9. "By the way here's your reaping gift from me, Beth and Finn" he tosses me a small parcel and I smile before putting it in my bag, "I'm not giving mine until I get back K?". He chuckles and nods I'm half-way out the door when I quickly spin to him, "Don't forget to give them each a bathe just in case I'm not back by 12" and I bolt out the door.

Our District.. or well our PART of the district is very shabby. The houses are very run down, there aren't any streets just dirt and there are people fighting starvation everywhere. I hate the Capitol so much, they call the Hunger Games honorable, they think dying for your district and killing those who could be so important to you is HONORABLE.

I push the thoughts out of my head and jog down the dirt lanes until the mud starts to become gravel and the gravel soon becomes grass. Our district was lined by an electric fence as were most of the districts except on the exceptionally rare chance we get electricity it's in the crazy hours of the morning or the latest times at night. I pull my jacket off, stuff it into my bag and toss them over the fence; after that I carefully slip underneath the wiring which had been torn apart from some tree roots. I grab my bag again and begin my descent down the hill of daisies, man that sounds cheesy... I reach the thin river at the base of the hill and I spring over landing with a light snap on the debris. I carefully walk along the stick path until I reach a small silver pond, I roughly pull up my sleeves and I drag my set of knives out of the sand. Damn the other weapons weren't there, I was the last to arrive. "Finally!" I smile and turn around to see three people approach; and then one dropped from a tree and almost gave me a heart attack. "FAYE!" She smiles at me happily and throws her arms around my neck her straw hat falling to the ground in the process letting her golden curls tumble down her shoulders.

Laura. 16

The tall, bulky one is holding a huge sword and has a blank expression except for the small smile that perks on his lips when his sister startles me. He has dull gold hair the same colour as straw.

Harrison. 18

Then there is the skinny one with glasses, he has floppy black hair and has a single dagger dangling from his belt but other then that he is defenseless. You know besides his IQ of 239.

Samuel (Sammy). 17

And finally the joker of the group, he has thick gold hair and a baby face, he's holding a bow and a quiver of arrows. "Hey Princess!" Oh yeah he's also the biggest flirt in the group.

Christopher (Chris). 17

"Me and Laura will go pick some stuff and meet you back at the Scoop K?" They all nod and me and Laura head off in the direction of the hills. We start off by 'The Hanging Tree' nicknamed due to its longest branch which curled and twisted into a circle and it's smooth bark which was different shades of red and brown; it was an apple tree and had several bushes of dimberries. Laura flips her hat over and we use it as a basket until the bushes are bare, then we fill half my bag up with apples.

The scoop is a massive hole in the ground but it is concealed by bushes and flowers. If your wondering about the name, this is the story. It'd been a month since we'd all started hunting together, Laura and I were 9 already best friends, Harrison was 11 and Sam, Chris and Matthew had been 10, we'd all been sitting in the meadow and Chris being a walking stomach was talking about ice-cream. We then started running around like lunatics and Chris fell into the hole, claiming it looked like someone had taken a big scoop out of the ground, and well I guess it stuck.

I wasn't surprised when we were the first to arrive I remember when we were younger me and Laura waited for two hours before they got back. I quickly pull out two apples and toss one to Laura, we sit there in silence for twenty minutes until the boys return. I like those times usually me and Laura would be chatting like crazy but we had the occasional silent days and Reaping Day was definitely one of them. When the boys get back they've caught, an owl, three squirrels and two rabbits. We stay in the scoop until 10:30, after that we go back to the pond; put our weapons in and trudge back to the fence.

The Trade, which is exactly what it sounds like, the black market that operates in an old warehouse that once made MASSIVE loaves of bread for the Capitol but eventually it was shut down, The Trade taking it's place. Almost every stall closed at 1 so we had an hour and a half to trade. We trade half the apples to Mr. Undergo who gives us a pretty good price, we end up trading almost everything but in the end I end up with a little parfait, some oil, two loaves of flat bread, a block of cheese and a couple of left over apples.

At 11:45 I hug Laura, they all leave to get ready for the Reaping and I head over to Chipper's Stall. Chipper is a cheerful man with grey hair and whiskers he has a pair of thick glasses and warm tanned skin. He is a nice man and we call him chipper because he does sculpting out of wood for a living; the reaping is the only time of the year when his spirits are dampened. "Afternoon Flick" He smiles as I approach and I smile back, he nicknamed me Flick because up until I was 8 I worked for him on a daily basis after that I started working in the fields. He always sent me out to deliver carvings and he said I was so fast I was a mere flicker of movement so he ended up nicknaming me Flick.

"Are they done?" I ask in anticipation, he smiles and pulls two small pouches out from under the table, placing them down carefully. We had a tradition in my family every year you're in the Reaping you get a good luck charm, usually the parents would get them but since our parents aren't here I buy most of them. I still have all my charms but Ash threw his away because they reminded him to much of mum and dad. All of mine are little glass bottles filled with different coloured sand and I loved them all, but my most precious charm was a small gold ring suspended in the centre, it's made of gold and has a very small ruby in the centre.

Chipper carefully opens the pouches and I gasp, they were incredible, Beth's is a tiny heart made out of mahogany with curls and patterns carved along the surface, and Finn's is a star made of ebony with a tiny heart carved in the centre, each had a gold chain. "Thank You Chipper" I pay him and sprint back to the house when I realize it's 12:00.

When I get back Ash was brushing Finn's hair and Beth had just hopped out of the bath, Finn and Ash were fully dressed. I help Beth get into her dress which is a pale blue baby style dress then I pigtail her hair. Finn was dressed in a black pants and a shirt the same blue as Beth's dress. After that I strip off my hunting clothes and quickly wash myself before slipping on my Reaping clothes. My dress is pale yellow with straps and no sleeves, a pair of yellow shoes and I'm all done, I brush my hair until it's smooth and I walk into the dining room with the three gifts. We all sit around the table and Beth who's technically youngest opens hers first and then Finn and then me. I open the carefully wrapped parcel and almost stop breathing, it was beautiful. A tiny fairy perched on a flower charm it was made of silver, gold and to my greatest surprise diamond. "-... uh.." I try to talk but nothing comes out. I carefully slip the charm onto my necklace and pull them all into a massive family hug.

When it reaches 1:45 we all head over to the town square for the Reaping, Finn and Beth were trembling. I've told them about how they have to take your blood sample to sign you in but as soon as were in 10 meters of the table they both stopped in synchronization. "Hey!..Hey, It's OK it doesn't hurt that much OK? You two have to be brave little soldiers you can take a little prick right?" I coo and they calm down, "I'll see you after OK?" And Finn bravely directs his sister to the table.

I rub my fingers together for reassurance, and to stop the blood flow. I look down the rows an is see Laura looking at me, 'Good Luck' I mouth and she smiles. District 9's escort Silesia Harmety is a bubbly lady who looked more alien then human. Her skin was pale blue and her hair was straight with a massive curl off her head in the centre. Her lips, hair and eyes were all silver and her clothes were just...eccentric. "Welcome! Welcome! Happy Hunger Games! And... May the Odds Be ever in your favour! Now! Before we begin we have a very special film! Brought to you all the way from the Capitol!" She gestures to the huge board and I turn away, I'd watched it before and I hated it every time.

_War. Terrible War._

_Widows, Orphans, A Motherless Child._

_This was the uprising that rocked our lands._

_13 districts rebelled against the country that fed them...loved them...protected them..._

_Brother turned on brother until nothing remained_

_And then came the peace._

_Hard fought only one_

_When the traitors were defeated we swore as a nation we would never know this treason again..._

I fell into a daze after that and I would've stayed that way if Silesia hadn't broken into hysterics when the film finished, "It's beautiful! Isn't it? Now the time has come! For us to select one courageous young man and woman, for the honour of representing district nine in the 125th Annual Hunger Games! As always! Lady's first" She walks over to the huge glass sphere and pushes her hand in, she swirls it around a bit before pulling a name out. I hold my breath as she walks to the microphone.

It's not me.

_Great._

It's not Bethany.

_THANK GOD!_

It's Laura Miller

_Oh shit..._

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_PLEASE REVIEW! It motivates me_

_BALI~LALI! X3_


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